Caster



1. F. WOLFS.

cAsTEB. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 1I, 1921.

, Patented July 4, 1922. ZSHEETs/-SHEET 1.

Mmm?,

I lNvENToR ATTOR EY J. F. WOLFS.

cAsTEE APPLICATION 4FILED OCT. H. |921. 1,421,647.

Patented July 4, w22.

" `2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR Sil@ JEAN' F. WOL-FS, OF NEVJARK, NEW JERSEY.

CASTER.

Mancia.

Applcatonleel October 11, 1921.

T 0 all tf1/720722 it muy concern Be it known that l, JEAN F. iVoLrs, a citi- Zen of the United States, and a resident of Newark, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Casters, of which the following'v is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved caster which is adapted to provide aueasy starting caster; in other words, one that requires but little power to more the fur* niture to which it is attached, and one which hassuch bearing on-the floor as to minimize the wear on a particular part ofthe floor.y so that there is practically no marring of polished floors or rugs when a piece of furnitureemploying these cast-ers is moved or rests on such surfaces.

The invention is further designed to pro- 'videa caster which has a structure employing a' minimum of height so that theproportions of a piece of furniture are not disturbed after itis mounted on such casters, andT the casters are not! conspicuous since they do not add materially to the height of theV furniture, being capable of a flat assemblage or structure.

Anotherfeature of the invention is the quick adaptability7 of the device to assume following position when thc furniture is moved, the following position and the rotation of the rolling element being simultaneous and-taking place at once when the furniture begins its movement.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which lshow several types of my improved easter,'Figure l being` aside view of one form with the lower part of the leg of a piece of furniture being shown in dotted outline, and with the rolling element and the socket for the sten: lx-eing shownin section. Figure 2 is an end view of Figure l with the roller shown in section, andFigure 3 is a top view of the article shown in Figure 2. Figure 4. is a side view of a modified form of construction with the lower part thereof shown in section. Figure 5 is an endview of the device shown. in Figure 4, and Figure G is aA top view thereof. Figure 7 is a detail section of thel lower part of amodified form of caster. Figure 8 is a top view of the article shown in Figure 7, and Figure 9 is aisection showingA the lower part=`of a piece of furniture of heavy type, illustrating one form of caster adapted for such furniture. FigurelO is a view show- Speeicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented July 4, i922.

Serial No. 507,104.

ing a modified form of easter rotating on tiXed support. Figure ll is a se tion of a modified form of construction. taken on line ll-ll in Figure l2. Figure 12 is a top view of the construction shown in Figure il, and Figure 13 is a section of a still further moditied form ofv construction.

To my'improved caster I employ a rotatable element which, for clearness of description, I will identify asthe. roller, which has at least one face rounded or dome-shaped. the surface of such dome-shaped part being of relatively large radiusso as to give a maximum of bearing` or nearly aiiat bearing on the floor,Y such rotatable element being nountedv so that its plane of rotation is slightly inclined to the horizontal, Such rotatable element can be secured in many ways to the furniture, but l prefer to secure it so that it not only rotates as above described, but its aXis or center of rotation eccentric to the main supportfso that the following function desirable in casters is performed when the furniture is moved.

In Figure l the rotatable element l0 hasI its lower or wearing face ll-rounded or made dome-like and is rotatable on the stud 12, being held thereon in any usual or desirable way, as, for instance, by the split wire ring` The stud l2 is secured tothe bottom part 14 ofthe stem l5. The stud 'is eccentric to the stein l5. the stern- 15 being made rotatable in a suitable socket or support, such as the sleeve 16, the sleeve not heilig described in detail since any usual or desirable sleeve or socket can be used. since they forni no part of this invention. The eccentrieity ofthe stud 12 to the stem 15 provides for the Caster following, the illustration in Fig ure l showing the. position the parts would assume if the furniture was moved in the direction of the arrow, this stud 'l2 being canted, as will be seenfrom Figure 2, the cant or inclination being out of the plane passing through the axis of the stem and the center of eccentrieity, so that the roller is slightly inclined from the horizontal, as shown in Figure 2. In. otherwords, the cant is transverse or substantially transverse to the direction of the following or trailing of the stud l2 behind the stem 15, which insures a rotation of the roller, since its bearing on the floor is always to one side of its center of rotation.

In Figures 4f, 5 and 6 I show a modified form of construction in which the stem l5 has its extension or stud 17 canted and hav mg a shoulder 18 against lwhich the shell 19 is seated, the stud 17 being secured eccentrically in the shell 19, Vas will be seen fr oar Figures 5 and 6, and the rotative element 2O is secured in the shell 19 and can have easy rotation insured by suit-able ball bearings 21. This structure also provides for a canting of the roller transversely to the pl anc ol" eccentricity. In other Words, the axis of rotation of the roller is not parallel with the aXis of the stem, and is also not parallel with the plane passing through the axis of rotation of the stem and through the eccentric position of the roller relative to such stem.

In Figures 7 and 8 I show a still further modified form in which the stem 15 and the shoulder 18 act to hold one member 22 of a ball race, the other member' 23 (fo-operating With the member 22 to hold the series of balls 24 so that the member 23 can rotate, and the Wearing or outside plate 25 is turned over at its edges to enclose and hold together such ball races and bea-ring lightly enough on the member 22 to provide for the rotation of the part 25. In this construction the stud 17 on the end of the stem 15Vis canted and is secured eccentrically in the member 22 so that the above described functioning and relative position of the parts is accomplished.

In Figure 9 I shoiv one type of improved caster embodying my invention which is adapted for heavy furniture, the leg 26 of the piece of furniture being supported by the stem 27 which has a stud 2S eccentrically mounted thereon similar to the structure shown in Figures 1 and 2, and having a disk 29 with grooves to receive the balls 30, which balls bear in suitable races provided in the roller 32, this providing a substantially flat caster, and when, in the case of large pietes of furniture, such as pianos, the apron or shield 33 is placed in position on the bottom of the legs, the easter is practically invisible to the casual observer.

It Will be noticed too in all these structures that a considerable area of substantially flat surface bears on the floor, and. there is practically no tracking or impressions made in the floor by furniture at rest or furniture being moved, since the substantially dat roller rotates in a plane slightly inclined to a plane perpendicular to the axis of the stem which supports the roller in the leg of the piece of furniture.

In some pieces of furniture. such as pulln out beds and the like, there is no necessity for swiveling the caster; in other Words, there is a straight path pursued by the article of furniture, and for this type I may employ the easter shown in Figure 10, iii Which the rotating element 10 is Vheld in an inclined position so that the plane of rotation of the clement 10 is slightly inclined to the horizontal, and in the form shown the manner of supporting the rotatable element is embodied in a stem34 which is arranged in the mounting 35 in the form of a sleeve secured to the leg ofthe piece of furniture. It will be evident from this that when this caster is mounted with its stem 34 inclined out of the plane of movement of the furniture, the rotatable element will always be heldin a position Where it Will rotate when the furniture is moved, Y

In Figure 11 I show acompact form of caster designed for heavier articles of furniture, in Which the rotatable element 10 supports, by means of the roller bearings 36, the plate 37 Whichis suitably `secured by suitable means, such as thefscreivsc33, to the bottom of the leg of the piece of furniture. The stud 39 is arranged eccentri rally on the plate 37 Within the ballbearings y 36, and that part of the plate 3T which is supported by the balls 36 and which acts as a bearing for the stud 39, is inclined slightly to the horizontal so vas to give the required rotative bearing to the caster.- y

In Figure 13 I illustrate a modified form in which the rotatable element 10 supports roller bearings 40 on the plate 41, the'centra'l part of this plate 41 being inclined slightly and receiving the stud 42 of the rotatable element 10, the siviveled action being 'proVd vided by ball bearings 43, these ball bearings including the retaining part 44 of the plate 41 and the retaining part 45 of the base trimming or plate 4G'Which has its outer end crimped, as at47, so as to hold the device on such elements as the hollow leg 48 of a brass bed or similar article of furniture, the Whole forming a substantially flat support for the furniture.'

It Will be evident that many modilications and structural. changesV can be'made in casters oi" this type without departing from the scope of the invention. c Y i I claim:

1. A caster comprising a rotatable 'element, and means for mounting saidelement on an article so that When the article is moved the element rotates in a plane slightly inclined relative to the surface on Which it rotates.

2. A, caster comprising a disk with Va rounded face, a stem on which the disk is rotatably secured, the parts being disposed so that the disk rotates in a plane slightly ment of substantially flat form with a` rounded face, and rotatable means forsecurmg the rotatable element to the leg of a piece of furniture so that the element r0- tates in a plane slightly inclined relative to the horizontal, and the axis of rotation of the element is eccentric to the axis of r0- tation of said means.

5. A caster comprising a stern having a substantially Hat head thereon, and a bearing for said stern, said bearing being so disposed 0n an article supported by the caster that when the stem and head rotate the plane of rotation of the head is slightlyv inclined relative to the surface on which it rotates.

n testimony that I claim the foregoingy l have hereto set my hand, this 7th day of September, 1921.

JEAN F. WOLFS.

AVAILABLE COPY Certificate of Correction.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,421,647, granted July 4, 1922, upon the application of J can F. llolfs, of Newark, New Jersey, for an improvement in Casters, an error appears in the printed Lspecification requiring correcfion as follows: Page 2, lines 123 and 124, claim 3, for the Word bearing read being; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the eztse in the-.Patent Oice.

Signed and sealed this 8th day of August, A. D., 1922.

[SEAL] KARL FENNING,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

